Leopold von Ranke on History
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“The ultimate aim of historical writing is the bringing before us the whole truth.”
“Rigorous presentation of the facts, however conditional and lacking in beauty they may be, is without question the supreme law.”
“To history has been attributed the function to judge the past, to instruct ourselves for the advantage of the future. Such a lofty function the present work does not attempt. It aims merely to show how it actually took place.”